Valverde: “Everyone Saw It Was A Goal But…”

Ernesto Valverde claims “we all saw” Barcelona’s ghost goal at Valencia go in but admits his side “recently benefitted” from a controversial finish.

Lionel Messi’s shot was wrongly disallowed on Sunday, despite the ball clearly going over the line, but while Valverde suggested the decision cost his side the win, he was wary of criticising the match officials too much as the ball had gone out before Gerard Deulofeu gave Barca the lead against Malaga last month.

“We agree that it was so clear…” the Coach said after the 1-1 draw.

“It’s not about re-officiating the matches, it’s just that there are situations when the ball goes in.

“We recently benefitted from a decision against Malaga, but the one tonight harmed us more than anything because the linesman was in a bad position.

“We’re still talking about these things, whether it was a goal or not… We all saw it.

“No-one knows what would’ve happened if the goal was given. Of course, we would’ve gone ahead and it would’ve been a great advantage.

“It was a very hotly-contested match, like everyone saw. We both tried to dominate the game with our own styles.

“They defended very well and tried to counterattack very quickly. We were dominant enough in the first half, we didn’t give away too much and we really got stuck in.

“In the second half, they started better than we did and their goal came. After that, we took a step forward and tried to peg them back, despite how open we were.

“We got the draw and tried to go for the win. There was a moment in the second half when we nearly got caught off-balance.

“We played against time and space and a team that made good use of a high defensive line.

“We had more control in the first half and tried to dominate, but in the second we wanted to get nearer to their goal and break things up a bit more.

“The best thing for me is that, like against Atletico and Getafe, the team went behind and gave a response.”